California man pleads guilty to additional charges

California man pleads guilty to additional charges

A California man already sentenced to prison in connection with thefts from Jefferson City car dealerships in September pleaded guilty Thursday to an additional charge for a crime that occurred around the same time.

Cole County Judge Pat Joyce sentenced Skinner to two years in prison and ordered the sentence run concurrent to other sentences against him.

Court documents show the vehicle was taken on or around Oct. 11. It was found Oct. 14, when Skinner was caught breaking into Gold Star Recycling on Empire Drive.

Skinner also pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of damage to jail property, and Joyce sentenced him to two years in prison, to run concurrent with his other sentences. He also was ordered to pay $180 in restitution.

Skinner admitted to tampering with the sprinkler head Oct. 21 in his Cole County Jail cell.

A Cole County Sheriff's Department deputy said in the probable cause statement he responded to a fire/water pressure alarm in the jail's B pod while all of the pods were "locked down for count" at the time.

When he arrived, the deputy noticed "a large amount of water coming from under the door" of the cell and water spraying against the door from inside. The deputy said Skinner was the only person assigned to the cell at the time.

The cell was opened, and "Skinner came out of the cell soaked from water."

The deputy reported Skinner said he had removed a black piece of metal from the sprinkler, which caused the water to come out. The piece of metal was recovered from the cell, and maintenance staff removed the rest of the broken sprinkler head as evidence.